Interview with Newly Designated 17th President: Professor Jeong Kap-Young The 17th Yonsei University President was newly appointed, and the new president Profesor Jeong Kap-Young had a press conference on December 15th. While he will be officially inaugurated this February, he is the first president to be designated after the direct election system has been recently abolished in 23 years. At a press conference, Professor Jeong stated that from year 2013 all freshmen will be required to fulfill the residency requirement at International Campus. He explained that on-campus residency will enable Yonseians to foster empathy and teamwork. “For the Korean society to continuously develop, the models of talented individuals and leaders must change. The leaders of organizations and the society shall be people who are considerate to others, not those who are merely concerned with winning others.” The newly designated president pointed out that university education in Korea has been focused on the transmission of knowledge, generating those adept at shortsighted competition. The policy to oblige all freshmen to have on-campus residence is intended to nurture Yonseians to be more warm-hearted and passionate rather than to be merely interested in their scores and self. The soon-to-be-inaugurated president also shared his ideas regarding the issues of tuition fee and of governmental regulation. First, he exhibited his support for the differential tuition fee system in which the amount of tuition would be determined according to the students’ household income. He added, “Yonseians who have troubles with university education due to financial situations will be provided with support”. Second, in terms of the government’s regulation, newly appointed President Jeong said, “Each university has its distinct nature and characteristics, and so uniform government regulation will only adversely affect the innovative efforts of a university. As in advanced countries, the government should support the universities so that their efforts to survive in the international competition prove to be fruitful.” Adding to his consent to the three non-permissible policies, namely high school grading, college-administrated entrance examination or ‘Bongosa’, and admission by donation, he stated that the Yonsei would continue to lay emphasis on the consistency and transparency of its university entrance system. “Yonsei will fulfill its social responsibilities concerning the entrance system. This includes expanding the opportunities of those from low-income families and those whose talents are discovered later than others. The newly appointed President also explained his aims towards upgrading the level of education and research to meet the standards of worldwide universities. One of the goals during his time of presidency is to make Yonsei ‘The World University of Asia’. Not only will more Yonseians will be offered the opportunity to study abroad as exchange students in the world’s top 50 universities, talented students in those universities will come to study at Yonsei campuses as well. “This will in turn benefit the opportunities of inbound internalization for more Yonseians.” Positions of Responsibilities May 1996 – Present Editor, Global Economic Review (SSCI Journal) March 2001 – February 2005 Vice President, The Northeast Asia Economic Association President, The Northeast Asia Economic Association February 2002 – February 2003 President, Korea Society of Industrial Organizations December 2003 – Present President, Information and Communication Forum February 2004 – December 2008 Vice President, The Korea Association for Comparative Economics President, The Korea Association for Comparative Economics September 2008 – July 2009 Research Fellow, Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) Others 1993 Winner, MK Economist Award (Maeil Business Newspaper) 2001 – 2007 Member, Government Communication Committee 2004 – 2009 Member, Advisory Committee of the National Assembly Budget Office 2010 – Present Chairman, Center for Free Enterprise 2011 – Present Guest Editorial Writer, Dong-A Ilbo 2011 Winner, Hankyung (The Korea Economic Daily) Dasan Economic Award